AutoMATE Marine Systems [1] announces the launch of an updated website and new UNATTENDED Collision Avoidance System (DigiPLOT) to coincide with CMA Shipping 2015 Conference and Trade Show in Stamford CT. Ship owners looking to prevent collisions and fully meet US Law’s ARPA Regulations; now meeting the need at a fraction of previous cost.

DigiPLOT has been proven based on over 60 million hours of at sea automatic operation. Recently redesigned with todays’ computing technology, DigiPLOT’s introductory price is lowered to one half – further increasing customer value and offering a future IMO fuel saving add-on for payback and continuing increased profit.

Visit The Automate Marine exhibit to see live videos of actual at sea operational footage [2] The videos display collision avoidance actions with both vessels maneuvering normally as in visual encounters. Unlike any other ARPA (or AIS alone, defined by IMO as illegal for anti-collision) DigiPLOT/AIS is ideal for an unmanned perimeter of radar towers for the US immigration control sealing of the “wet borders” evolving into the Rand recommended for Global Maritime Tracking and Homeland Defense.

All other collision avoidance concepts operate in “minutes not seconds” Digiplot is Near Real Time, meeting IMO ARPA scenario vector accuracy calculation specs [3] in <1 minute not the three minutes allowed, so it can sense “head on” encounter threats more than three times further away allowing for more anti-collision “Escape Time”[4]

DIGIPLOT’s unique auto acquisition compliant ARPA measures ALL echoes, selects the closest up to 200 closing “ship-sized” echoes between own ship and the closest shore, then fully analyzes up to 40 of the most threatening while separating moving from stationary as true vectors. Relative switched quickly instantly ranks their immediacy for action by CPA/TCPA. Incorporating new inland eDLoran/GNSS, which cannot be jammed or unknowingly spoofed to reliably reference e-charts, thus providing the “Holy Grail” for ship navigation; e.g. a single display Maneuvering Aid for complete surrounding awareness for both anti-collision and grounding.

DIGIPLOT also has a unique Trial Maneuver sped up 30 times, which may be used to predict the effect of own ship changing course, speed and/or the delay time to execute. Each ship’s DIGIPLOT has its ship’s turning and stopping characteristics built in equal to a naval architect’s most conservative characteristics. This feature is particularly useful when approaching land, and the watch officer (particularly one who doesn’t have enough experience for the “feel” of the ship), by quickly trying several course and speed options so he can be aware of its wide turning arc clearly showing the proper last time to execute at his present speed when the maneuver will be well clear of grounding. The trial is viewed similar to seeing a typical “Concordia-type” [5] AIS reconstructed time plot replay normally used for after-the-fact analysis and assessing blame for an incident, except this trial depiction shows when it is still hypothetical and a proper quantitatively evaluated maneuver[6]can be executed safely clearing other vessels, buoys, wind-farms and charted obstructions while avoiding grounding.

AutoMATETMproducts[8]leverage 13 years and $6 million of pioneering development cost from the founders’ previous company[9] on $41M sales of bridge automation systems including DIGIPLOT the only “hands off’ fully automatic Marad/IMO Type Approved ARPA that was installed on 550 ships. Patent(s) on improved technology of sensors, algorithms and control solutions are now included on software re-hosted on today’s faster marine computer-displays as add-on ARPA displayed on eDLoran/GNSS jam/spoof free referenced e-charts on ECDIS [10]with optional fuel saving IMO SEEMP.Referenced Links:[1] NY Times link Collision Avoidance- Audio of Breakthrough Maritime Technology – Company History

The Shell Lab, Dutch government and their contractor worked for 5 years to design an on-line marine traffic monitoring system by adding a computer to a special DIGIPLOT. They specified an increase to 60-target capacity with the ability to size each vessel’s echo into ten categories for display and recording. The system was installed on the 56m motor vessel named “Small AGT” and called MATROS (Marine Area Traffic Observation System) which operated for 10 years in the North Sea. AIS fully automatic data adding to UNATTENDED DigiPLOT is the fundamental building block for MATROS combined with AIS, UNATTENDED radar monitoring and shore control:

[10] DigiPLOT can also be displayed on any “cooperating manufacturer’s ARPA radar (or e-chart/ECDIS) that is not compliance with USCG Marad or IMO ARPA Regulations by adding an ARA displayed on raw radar as shown on the original DigiPLOT operating as shown in the movie comparing other manufacturer’s manual acquisition showing operation in the crowded English channel or at the French shore with ships coming and going through closely space channel marking buoys